With the weather into DC last night, my flight was delayed, and I called the Hyatt Bethesda from the cab at 10:40pm asking when room service shut down. It shut down at 11:00pm, and I asked if I could get something ordered and waiting for me. The front desk agent seemed confused, but then said, "sure, let me transfer you".

I was transferred to the restaurant and to a new bartender who was willing to do it, but without a room number, he didn't know how to get it into the system.

He didn't know how to transfer me back to the front desk, so I called back.

Explained to the new front desk person who answered that I was on my way in, needed a room assignment, and wanted to order room service to be waiting for me. He talked to his supervisor, gave me the room number, and attempted to transfer me to the restaurant.

The call kept bouncing back to the front desk, and they continued to try to transfer me.

At 10:58pm, someone picked up at the restaurant, and the conversation went like this.

Me: "i'm on my way in to the hotel, I'm in room ###, and I would like to order room service".

Him: "Sorry, we are shut down for the night, we don't have anything out."

Me: "I know I'm cutting it close, but I've been trying to get to you for about 20 minutes, and finally made it, it is still just before 11:00".

Him: "We generally shut things down around 10:30pm, and that probably was why no one was picking up"

Me: "I talked to someone about 10 minutes ago, and he was willing to take the order."

Him: "Let me look to see what we might still have out"

Pause

Him: "I'm sorry, but we don't have anything out".

Me: "OK, have a good night".

I get to the hotel at 11:10pm, and the front desk agent recognizes the name from the call and asked if I got room service. When told the story, he pulls out a menu from a pizza place that will deliver in the ice, and I call while checking in. So, I had food and was not horribly inconvenienced. The folks at the front desk were apologetic and helpful.

Ordering room service before I arrive is not something I routinely do, but I've probably done it close to 10 times in 20 years, and I've never had an issue before.

When food service shuts down at 11pm at an East Coast hotel, you are going to have lots and lots of people arriving after 11pm. Heck, there was another Houston flight coming in a couple hours after mine.

At a full-service Hyatt, the gift shops are closed by that time. At a Hyatt Place, I can always scrounge for food.

Is this just completely an oddball request for which I should feel thankful that the hotels were able to pull it off or is this something that others of you do.